"Big.Little processing" is name ARM gives to the concept behind the Cortex-A7 MPCore-- a chip for use as either a secondary processor or in low-end sub-$100 smartphones.

Designed to have as small a footprint as possible, ARM says the Cortex-A7 is one fifth the size of the Cortex-A8 processor (the single-core version measures all of 0.45mm²) and is built using a 28nm process, while being 5x more energy-efficient.

The Cortex-A7 is designed to work in tandem with the Cortex-A15 MPCore-- with big.Little processing selecting the right processor for the right task according to performance requirement. ARM claims this system will allow for entry level devices in the 2013-2014 timeframe with the equivalent processing performance to current high-level smartphones.

The designs combine fingerprint biometrics with NFC technologies-- creating a system where users call up their mobile wallet applications by swiping their finger over a fingerprint sensor, before transactions are carried out via NFC.

The first successful biometrically-enabled mobile transaction was just recently carried out in the USm via a Motorola ATRIX 4G smartphone carrying AuthenTec's AES1750 fingerprint sensor and deviceFidelity's In2Pay microSD card.

Current NFC-based transactions via smartphones such as Google's Nexus S require the user to log in via password or PIN.

AuthenTec says its fingerprint-baed methond should drive NFC and mobile wallet adoption, as the system is both faster and safer-- at least than regular passwords or PINs. Wheter it's also hacker-proof is still to be seen, though.

Adapteva plans to push smartphones beyond dual-core processors, with a design for a 64-core accelerator for handheld devices.

Such an accelerator have a similar role to that of specialised multicore chips used in supercomputing, only with a difference-- Adapteva's Epiphany design operates at only 1 W.

The design can scale to up to 4096 cores (which would run on 64W), but Adapteva's current focus is on mobile applications. The company says an Epiphany 64-core accelerator would also be quite small-- 8mm square.

Adapteva still has to convince device makers to embrace its yet unproven (if not unneeded) design, however-- as well as convince them that it's more worthed to process data on the device, rather than ship it over cellular network. Will it manage? The future will tell, of course.

Belkin announces an addition to the Mixit DuraTek durable cable line-- a USB-C cable featuring Kevlar-reinforced conductors and double-braided nylon shielding on the outside.
The USB-C cable is certified by both...

Snap-- aka the rebranded Snapchat-- announces the Spectacles, its video-recording sunglasses, are now available in Europe, 7 months after an initial US launch.
For the unfamiliar, the Spectacles are a pair...